End gate for wagons



March 24, 1925.

G. H. VANDASANT END GATE FOR WAGONS Filed Feb, 16, 1924 I 1 f E O JWVENTOE: l L X F 1,5 0/?6//. Imam/v7 l o d i l W fiyamlw Patented Mar. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES GEORGE H. VANDASANT, OF TAYLORVILLE, ILLINOIS.

END GATE FOR WAGONS.

Application filed February 16, 1924. Serial No. 693,198.

To all whom 2'25 may concern;

Be it known that I, Gnonos H. VANDA- SANT, a citizen of the United States, residing in Taylorville, in the county of Christian and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Im rovements in End Gates for Wagons, which the following is a speci fication.

This invention relates to a novel combined end gate and scoop-board construction for use particularly on farm wagons employed for hauling grain such as wheat, oats, shelled corn, and the like.

End-gates, as now employed, at least such as I have had practical experience with, are unsatisfactory in several particulars. One of these is that the means employed for hinging or pivoting them to the rear end of the bed of the wagon present an obstruction to the use of the scoop or shovel employed for removing the grain from the wagon, so that the edge of said scoop or' shovel will strike the obstruction, causing annoyance to the operator, injury to the scoop, and the exercise of unnecessary care, and a loss of time, in so using the scoop as to avoid the obstruction. Again, the connection of the tail-gate with the bed of the wagon is often such that it will work loose, allowing grain to escape, or else the endgate will be bulged by the weight of the grain in the wagon, with a like result.

It is the object of my invention to overcome these objections and to provide a tailgate which may be readily attached to and detached from the bed of the wagon and which, when in its closed position, will prevent any escape of the grain from the wagon, and when lowered to act as a scoopboard, will present a smooth surface for the passage of the scoop from the board to the bed of the wagon, in shoveling the grain from the'wagon.

A further object of the invention is to provide an end-gate of novel constri'lction in itself whereby it may be cheaply manufactured, and shall be simple and durable.

Finally, an object of the invention is to provide novel means for holding the gate in its open and closed positions on the wagon.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the rear portion of a wagon provided with my improved end-gate, showing the same in its closed position;

Figure 2 is a similar view with the endgate in its open position; and

Figure 3 is a plan view of the parts as shown in Figure 2. i

Referring now to the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates the tail-gate which is in the form of a flat metal framehaving side bars 2 and cross-bars 3, and at either end flanged side members a, and provided at its lower end with a series of spaced apertured lugs The parts of the tail-gate indicated above are preferably formed as an integral structure. The numeral 6 (Figure 3) indicates a metal plate which is permanently secured onthe bottom of the wagon at the rear end thereof, as by bolts or screws 7, and is preferably set into the bottom to cause its upper surface to be flush therewith. This plate is provided at its rear edge with a series of spaced apertured lugs 8. The tail-gate is hinged to the plate 6 by interlocking the lugs and 8 and inserting a pin 9 through them, thus forming the hinged connection known as a piano hinge. By

. removing the pin 9 it will be seen that the tail-gate may be readily disconnected from the bottom of the Wagon. The pin 9 is normally held from withdrawal by means of a cotter pin 10 inserted in its outer end. The tail-gate 1 is intended to support a series of boards 11 which are inserted endwise, as shown, and secured to the cross-bars 3 and side bars 2 by means of bolts 12. They thus form a closure for the rear end of the wagon when the tail-gate is raised. Secured on each of the flanges 4 is a clip 13 in which is pivotally mounted a hook 14, the hooked end of which passes through a slot in a keeper 15 secured on the side of the wagon in any suitable way. Preferably, this is done by means of a yoke plate 16 inserted over the bottom side board of the wagon having on its inside leg a tongue 16 fitting in the ordinary tail-gate frame 16 and provided on its outside leg with a slot 17 through which passes a bolt 18 securing the keeper to the yoke plate. By loosening the bolt 18, the keeper 15 may be moved up or down to adjusted positions to cause the hook it to properly function therewith. When the tail-gate is raised, the forward part of the clip 13 passes through the slot in the keeper 15, as shown by Figure 1, and the hook 14 may then be turned rearwardly and engaged over or in a staple 19 secured on the lower end of the tailgate. To open the tail-gate, these hooks are knocked downwardly and raised, and the tail-gate may then be lowered, as shown by FigureQ, until the end of the hook engages the keeper '15. In this position, the end-gate, and particularly the boards 9, serve as a bottom to guide the scoop in shoveling the corn from the wagon. In closing the end-gate, the flanged side members 5L pass on the outside of the sides of the wagon and, in connection with the boards 9 abutting against the rear ends of the side, form asecure seal for the rear end of the wagon, and prevent any grain from escaping therefrom. This is furtherinsured by the manner of hinging the end-gate to the wagon which, as will: be seen, provides no openings through which the grain may esca. e.: Furthermore, as the lugs 5 and 8, forming the hinge, are flush with the surfaces of the plate 6 and endgate 1, respectively, and asthe lower ends of the boards 9, under any circumstances, project slightly above these lugs, it will be seen that the edge of the scoop; can pass from these boards onto the plate 6 without meeting any obstruction whatsoever, thus greatly facilitating the operation of shoveL ing grain from the wagon, claim:

1. An end-gate for wagons, comprising av skeleton frameformed from an integral plate of metal and presenting side bars, cross bars, flanged side members extending at right angles to the plate, and hinge members, a plate secured on the bottom of the wagon and having hinge members adapted to co-operate with those of said frame, a pin connecting said hinge members, and boards secured on said frame side by side, to extend parallel with the sides of the frame to form a'closure for the rear end of the Wagon.

2. An end-gate for wagons, comprising a, unitary skeleton frame formed from a single sheet of metal and presenting side bars, cross bars, hinge members and flanged side members, the latter. being spaced a sufiicient distance apart to enable them to embrace opposite sides of the wagon when the end-gate 1S closed, boards secured on said frame side by side, to extend parallel with'the sides of the frame, and means located, respectively, on said flanged side members and the body of the Wagon for holding the end-gate in either the open or closed position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

GEORGE H. VANDASANT. 

